Garbage, and particularly garbage containing smelly and rotting food are of particular interest to animals. They are guided from afar by the smell to an easy meal. Home owners particularly on the outskirts of metropolitan areas, surrounded by undeveloped land must cope with wild animals raiding their loaded trash pails prior to pick up. Such wild animals include racoons, porcupines, coyotes, wolves, and even bears. Bears are particularly problematic in as much as they have great strength to access, knock over, and assault a trash pail. Most enclosures which surround or cover trash pails also can be quickly broken down by a bear. Once the trash is accessed, it is generally strewn over a considerable area. In addition to the time consuming and unsavory chore of picking up the pieces of trash, there also is the problem that the animal has learnt where to return to find another easy meal. Home owners living in suburban areas also have problems with domesticated dogs turning over there trash pails and strewing about the trash therein. Although these dogs are well fed, they cannot resist investigating the interesting odors.
The most efficient, convenient, and inexpensive solution to the problem of animals accessing garbage in trash pails is to provide a lid lock apparatus which is can be quickly and conveniently placed on, and removed from a trash pail. The apparatus should be adequately attached to the trash pail, and sufficiently rugged, so that even a bear is unable to tear the apparatus off the trash pail or beat up the trash pail sufficiently to access the garbage therein. Additionally the apparatus should be readily adapted fit onto different standard trash pail designs and sizes. It is also useful to have the apparatus provide structural support to prevent the top opening of the trash pail being squeezed to pop the trash pail lid. Finally, the apparatus should be available with different levels of protective abilities. A device which is capable of withstanding the assault of a bear is an overkill in neighborhoods where the largest predator is a domesticated dog.